Mulberry reviews

sautesmomJune 20, 2008

My Morus Nigra--Noir de Spain is four years old now and about 15 feet high, and this year I've got a nice big crop, and they have begun to ripen.

I also discovered some mulberries growing in our local park, and sampled some and--what a difference! They have an immediate mulberry flavor, which dissipates quickly into insipid. (I think they are white mulberries, but who knows, the tree trunks are at least six feet across so they are probably a hundred years old)

MY mulberries are absolutely delicious, heaven, like the most flavorful sweet/tart blackberry there is. It must be the difference between Morus Nigra and Morus Alba. Glad I planted the right one!

Thanks for the review. Raintree says Noir is hardy in zones 8-10. They also say it is hardy to 0F, not exactly the same zone. I should cut down my sweet cherries and plant something else. Several mulberries would be something different, but which ones?

I know Pakistan is very good. I grew it when I lived in CA. Raintree says zones 6-10 for it but really doubt it is that hardy. Guess I should try it just to see. Raintree has about 6 other varieties that sound good.

Noir de Spain and it's replacement both didn't make it through the winter for me, and I'm zone 8. My Black Beauty is a tree with a very high graft and has fruited but I have to be careful to keep it watered or the buds don't develope in spring, the water may have a hard time getting up there. The fruit is very flavorful but that is because it is so acidic- it can burn my throat. I like the flavor of Illinois everbearing and my M. alba weeping mulberry just fine. They both bore at a very early age. I also have an Oscar but it suffered severe die-back in the leader- bark peeling off all the way around so I had to remove back to sound wood of lower branches. I didn't get fruit from it yet because of the die-back last year, hopefully it will be OK this year. I also have a Lavender mulberry and fruit is not as flavorful but OK, and slowly bearing more each year. It is not noticed by birds or staining, so that is nice.

These responses were very helpful, even though 2008. I was thinking about buying a Noir de Spain but now decided not to. I have Illinois Everbearing, 4 years old, and I like the fruit from that tree. Guess I only need one variety of mulberry. Thanks 4 years later for the helpful reviews.

eukofios, I'm surprised by these poor cold hardiness reviews for Noir de Spain, since my Morus nigra 'black beauty' survives my winters easily, and even made it through our record low of -23 it's first winter in the ground. Maybe the PNW is too wet in winter, or not hot enough in summer, at least for the weaker individuals?

I've tasted a lot of mulberries, and those of Morus nigra really are vastly better than any other. The tree is slow growing (I started with 10 gallon size) and not overly productive, but does stretch the harvest out about as long as IE.

Fabaceae, Maybe you are right about the wetness. Or, since winters here have a lot of warm / cold / warm / cold some trees leave dormancy and are killed by frosts that don't kill dormant trees. I've never got an apricot to survive here either.

It's funny, because I live in zone 8 , Portland area, and my Noir de Spain has really never had problems. It's very productive, and I even moved it after it reached 12 feet high, and it's still very productive. I have always had mine in full sun.
John S
PDX OR